| Riddick stands silent in the doorway of his bedroom, the whispers of Jack and Imam drifting into his ears. �When did it come, child?� Imam asks with restrained worry in his tone. �Today.� Jack replies, her voice full of what he knows to be anxiety. He slips into thought. Hmmm� Whispers. Apprehension. Two things a growing boy doesn�t need. His long strides take him to the entrance of the living room in three steps bringing his two roomies into full view. For a long moment, he analyzes their faces, the rigidity of their bodies. What the hell could have them so wound up? He clears his throat, subduing his laughter as he watches them damn near leap from the skin. �What�s got you two so uptight? Did one of the night creeps hitch a ride back with us and it�s down there tearing up the town?� Imam laughs. �Of course not, Mr. Riddick.� But Riddick knows the laugh is forced. �So�� He turns his eyes to Jack. �What�s up?� She merely shrugs and drops her eyes, sweat saturating her now pallid face. �Uhh�huh�� Riddick turns to the kitchen. �Well, you can both have a seat because nobody�s leaving until you tell me what�s goin� on.� As he grabs a bottle of water from the fridge, he hears Jack�s barely inaudible question to Imam. �Should I give it to him?" Never turning, he poses his own question in response. �Give me what, Jack?� He hears her gasp of surprise and turns to face her. �Ummm� Well�� �Spill it, kid.� The bottle is upturned and contents emptied in one long gulp. Jack makes a path towards him but stops short, her nervous eyes looking back over her shoulder at Imam. The Holy Man's nod seems to give her assurance and she closes the distance as she slowly begins to speak. �This came�� She digs into her pocket and reveals the folded envelope. �This letter came for you today.� Riddick is puzzled. �A letter? From who?� �I don�t know, Riddick. It�s from New Orleans, though. Isn�t that where you were born?� He swallows hard and nods, stomach twisting itself into knots. Jack shoves the letter towards him. �Read it. You should probably read it.� He takes the envelope, turning it over in his hand. Who could possibly be writing him from New Orleans? He left very few friends behind � one to be exact and last he heard about her, she was serving 30 to Life. Fuck! he hisses silently. This can�t be good. Sighing heavily, he opens the letter, situates the paper evenly between both his hands and begins to read. ------------------------------ Dear Richard: My name is Lathan Montgomery. The name will not be familiar to you so do not attempt to remember it. Just know that I am someone you can trust, someone who cares. So, please relax and allow me to explain the significance of my need to contact you. Before I begin, let me say that I am so very, very pleased that I�ve finally been able to locate you after all of these years. To know that you are safe does my heart well. I just wish that you could of lived a less hostile life. You didn�t deserve anything that happened to you. You were a good boy, Richard. A good boy? What the hell is this? Who is this�person? So with that said, let me begin. I have known you all of your life, Richard. I am the man that found you. The dumpster in which you rested was mine, me and my wife, Annabella. We were young newlyweds, just eighteen years of age. Young? Yes, I know but we were in love. What can I say? J Anyhow, you were taken to the hospital and immediately became the talk of the children�s ward. They concluded that you had been in that trash bin over two hours and should have been dead but somehow you weren�t. They called you a �prodigy� child but that didn�t begin to describe you. After a few weeks they released you. Annabella and I wanted to keep you so we kept you a secret and raised you for as long as we could as our own. Anna and I were unable to have children of our own. The day we found you was like a God-sent. But they found us out, my son. We went to the courts tried to do it the right way, adopt you, and keep you with us. It didn�t work and we were forced to choose. See, I was not a rich man, just the owner of a small antique shop and raising two children was hard. The state of New Orleans frowned on an un-wealthy man attempting to adopt one, let alone, two children. Three days later, they came for you and took you away from us. You were still a young�un, merely two years old, which will explain why you do not remember me. Anna wanted to run, just leave everything behind and run, but I couldn�t. Please understand if I�d done that neither of you would of survived. Neither of us? What�? I know you are probably confused but let me continue. Son, the day I found you, you were not alone. There were two of you. My dear, Richard you have a sister, a twin sister. Fuck�Me! I pray that you don�t think ill of us but we had to choose and the intellect we saw in you at such a young age prompted us to believe that you could survive. We were right, Richard. You have survived. A hard life you�ve had, yes, but you made it and for that I am so thankful. Anyway, a little over a year ago, your sister confirmed your existence. She always felt you. Did you feel her? She is something to behold, son. Her name is Mina and her only goal in life lately has been to find you. I know you are probably puzzled at how we�ve done it but let me just say this, there were two �survivors� born, this day, thirty one years ago. Your sister�s strength was considerably overlooked. Mina� Well, I know that this information is a lot for you to absorb but I do hope that you see it as good news � news that will help you to realize that despite the hardships and heartaches you have endured over the years that you were never alone. Yes, we've read the headlines and heard the stories but still you hold our hearts. What is done is done. We pass no judgment on you. Annabella and I love you just as much now as we did the very first day we laid eyes on you. I don�t know just how this news will affect you so I�ll simply ask that you try to forgive us for what we did and hope that you understand it was not an easy choice to make. You were wanted and still are, so if you ever find your way to New Orleans maybe you�ll come see your ole� mom and pop. Let us see you, hug you, and love you as we always have. But for today, prepare yourself for a visitor. Yes, Mina is there and is determined to meet the brother she felt for years but never knew. She loves you. Please try to love her back. Oh, and you should know that none of us know you as Richard B. Riddick, the highly feared criminal. You are Ian � Ian Montgomery, our pride and joy. The strong little boy that grew up to be an even stronger man. Take care of yourself, my son. And remember, you are always welcome here. Always! 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IAN'. We Love You! All my heart, Lathan ------------------------------ Ian? My damn name is Ian. Riddick sits back in the chair, eyes gleaming with the things he hasn�t seen in years as Jack and Imam move next to him. �Riddick, are you okay?� Jack places her hand gingerly on his tensed shoulder. �Mr. Riddick?� Imam drops his body into the seat opposite him, staring at him with bewilderment. Riddick blinks back his tears and looks sternly at Imam. �All these years I thought it was just me. Thought I had no one but me and now�� He drops his eyes back to the letter. His voice begins to shake but he swallows the trembles. �This man, the man who found me, saved me, just contradicted everything I�ve ever known � everything I�ve ever believed.� He stands abruptly as his anger rushes forward to hide the pain that he refuses to show. The force of his body sends the chair teetering backwards before it drops hard to the floor. He tries to move but can't. Frustration is immediate and he kicks back freeing himself from the confinement of the chair�s legs that hinder his left/right motion. The chair smashes into the stove. It sends Jack and Imam three steps to the left and out of Riddick's ominous path. �Damn it! Why now?� He grabs his shiv from his waistband squeezing it tightly into his hand as his voice drops to a mild roar. �I�ve finally made peace with who I am, what I am and now�� Storming into the living room, he stands, eyes focused out the window as he continues to hold the one thing in his life that has never let him down. Then he closes his eyes and let�s his mind settle itself around the thoughts of having a normal life for at least two years of his life. Realizing that even through the anger, the man�s words and revelations, have given him a sort of peace knowing that the love he thought he�d never get has been there all the time. Rather he�ll be able to forgive the man for choosing his sister over him is hard to say. His life has been a living hell for over twenty years. How is it possible to just accept that he was left to nurture himself because they saw him as the �stronger� one? A soft rattle at the door sends his head into a slow spin. He hears an oblivious Jack scurries to the door asking the question she�s been taught. The name is not recognizable to her but it is to him. He can feel Jack�s eyes on his back. �It�s okay, Jack. Open the door.� Jack�s soft whisper to her savior floats into his ears followed by Imam�s same god called under a different name. He can hear the woman�s voice and wants to turn but can�t. He�s not ready for this � not ready to meet the person that stole his life. Then he feels it. The fear. For the first time ever, he is afraid of the emotions that will come � of the reaction he will receive. Gathering all the strength he can muster, he is finally able to force his body into a turn and there she stands � this weaker part of him. She represents the beautiful reality of his past but also the beginning of his pain. This woman who holds his aged-old features, his memorable smile and his un-shined eyes. The side of him that obviously holds the hope, the forgiveness, and the love, he�d been without. Until now� ------------------- FINI |
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by Diesel Love |